The fashion gods have spoken! Purple is cool, your collar should match your shoes. Welcome to my judgments on menswear, with any luck it’ll help you avoid the bad fads.

The more I know about the fashion industry the more I wonder about Fashion Week’s role in society. Again not a single client (and my gents LOVE fashion) were even aware of Fashion Week at all.

But that’s all a discussion for another day, let’s get to

What’s NOW?!?

Snaps – Scouting Menswear Finalist

I’m gonna kick this off with my favorite garment from the Scouting Menswear contestants. Although this is nothing anyone would ever wear the construction is really interesting. It gives me life to know that designers are actually smart enough to execute such complex garments.

Black Coffee’s limited menswear range was JUST my cup of tea (lol). I think it’s a great take on African modernity that isn’t simply western clothing in African fabrics.

-Black Coffee

I felt the Health Goth vibe was big this season, which is odd since it’s already played itself out and been swallowed by the ath-leisure industry…but I guess this is Africa and we’re a bit behind on everything.

-Mbutho Sipho, Scouting Menswear Finalist

These gym shorts over tights are…if you’re a regular consumer, extremely NOW! Not my vibe really but I LIVE for this print so

-the Watermelon Social Club

This look I like, and it’s also (you’d think this was common but no) a really coherent collection.

Ephymol gets a mention here for his pleats and (some of) his print choices…but in general his collection left wondering, as usual, WHY?!?

-Ephymol

Kumkani Bespoke, the winner of the Scouting Menswear Competition, showed a well constructed, well styled, and very coherent collection. Though as usual I’m a bit underwhelmed by simply using African fabrics in European (and he threw in some Asian for good measure) garments.

I’ll end off this segment with the two collections I liked the most, mainly for the fact that they’re actually new.

-Otiz Seflo

Laser cutting is a bit old for the fashion industry, and it’s surprising that so few designers are incorporating this awesome technology into their designs.

-Ntando XV, Scouting Menswear Finalist

I feel this colour palette is really where menswear is going for the upcoming seasons. But mostly I love that this collection is truly exploring garment construction is a way that few others are smart enough to do.

Really not sure what this is even about:

Sandile Mhlongo’s collection is all about conceptual graphics…

-The Uniconz, Scouting Menswear Finalist

Not from where I was sitting I’m afraid…Fashion Week is expensive and I get really annoyed when I see something on the runway I could buy at Pep. Makes you wonder just how shitty the other Scouting Menswear entrants must have been!

-Bayanda Khatini

I actually don’t have anything to say about this

-Esnoko

Edit Edit Edit!!

Originally Kasified Clothing, also sometimes Originally Klassified Clothing…not my favorite brand for a while

-Originally Kasified Clothing

This man’s taste (especially in colour palette) is seriously questionable…although I’d take this collection over his S/S’17 one any day!

-Palse

As always with the cray cray…just pick one thing to go nuts on and stick with it for the whole collection, it’s easier on my eyes.

The Gender Neutral Crowd

In case you didn’t know is very trendy to be genderless these days. The real question though, is what do you wear as a non-binary person?

Is it:

-Bi Apparel

Sleeves so long you can’t use your hands? Since hands are extremely gender binary? I do love this colour palette though just saying

-De Mil

Night gowns with a religious undertone, also including random paneling? Shoes? Only gendered people wear shoes of course

-Ellen Madie

Hideously shaped garments?

-Tiller

Or pretty stock standard garments with some dashiki thrown in here and there for good (though not triggering) measure?

Me personally? I think Rich Mnisi takes a cake for gender bending:

-Rich Mnisi

SOOOO buying a zebra print mini-skirt RIGHT NOW!!

Though I know the general consumer doesn’t really bother with Fashion Week, it’s supposed to be the forerunner of trends that eventually find their way to market…though I’m yet to see this actually happen in real life.

Tell me what you thought of this season’s collections in the comment, and if you generally go to Fashion Week, why?

And of course see what we SHOULD be wearing right now based on what showed last season:

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